


Prioritizing

by Telaryn



Series: The Tale of Eliot Spencer and Ellen Harvelle [7]
Category: Leverage, Supernatural
Genre: Broken Bones, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Established Relationship, F/M, Gen, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-05
Updated: 2013-01-05
Packaged: 2017-11-23 19:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/625665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Telaryn/pseuds/Telaryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellen is injured on a demon hunt. When Sam and Dean rescue her, she's forced to remind them that she's still a force to be reckoned with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prioritizing

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://www.dreamwidth.org/profile?user=angst_bingo)[](http://www.dreamwidth.org/profile?user=angst_bingo)**angst_bingo** 's Round 3, for the prompt "broken bones".

_Eliot’s going to kill us._ It was the only thought in Dean’s head as he finally managed to fight free of the demon that had been doing its best to choke the life out of him. Whirling, he squeezed the plastic bottle of holy water he’d managed to hold onto – sending a hard jet of water into the host’s face. The man threw back his head and vomited thick, greasy black smoke into the air above them.

Sam had been trying to exorcise the group of them, but two of the larger demons had tackled him before he’d managed to get through two stanzas of the Rituale Romanum. One of them was holding him down, and the other was hitting him repeatedly in the face. Dean ran immediately to his brother’s aid, spraying more holy water on the two powerfully built host bodies.

There was no sign of Ellen Harvelle, or the demon she’d been battling. _It was supposed to be an easy hunt,_ Dean thought, reaching down a hand to help Sam to his feet. His adrenaline levels were redlined, and his heart was hammering painfully against his ribcage. “Which way did they go?” he asked Sam, glancing around for any sign of the missing woman and her opponent.

“In case you missed it,” Sam snapped, his voice raw, “I was a little busy getting the life choked out of me.”

“Yeah, that’s nothing compared to what’s going to happen to us if we let anything happen to Ellen.” It was one of those moments where Dean would have happily traded everything he knew about the man in Ellen’s life for a little of that blissful ignorance normal people always liked to talk about.

“He and Jo aren’t supposed to be back from Omaha until the end of the week,” Sam pointed out. “If we don’t find her tonight, I’m willing to take whatever punishment the man feels like dishing out.”  
****************  
Giving up the fight had grated on Ellen’s last nerve, but the difference between cracked and broken ribs was a significant one. _’specially when they’re pressing on the lung,_ she thought, struggling to keep her breathing steady and regular.

The demon who’d injured her was pacing back and forth, muttering, and running her fingers obsessively through her long, tangled hair. _Gotta play this careful,_ Ellen thought, studying the girl – who was around Jo’s age. “They’re coming for you, y’know,” she said finally. “You were smart to try and run, but you blew it by taking me with you.”

The demon whirled to face her. Even in the gloom, Ellen could see that her pale eyes were wide and terrified. “I could kill you, you know,” she said.

Ellen forced herself not to react the way her adrenaline levels were screaming for her to. “You could,” she conceded, “and when the boys catch up with you, they’ll make it slow and painful instead of just exorcising your sorry ass.” She hated using other people to bolster her own position, but her options were limited at that point. “Keep being smart. Walk away. The boys will be too busy taking me to the hospital to worry about you.”

The demon was still considering Ellen’s offer, when Dean’s last jet of holy water struck her in the back of the head. Sam’s voice reciting the Rituale Romanum, rang clearly through the fading light as the boys came over the ridge into view. With a soft groan of relief, Ellen allowed herself to collapse boneless to the ground.

She’d been too slow. Now that the danger was past, every point at which she could have made a different choice started playing in her head. “Let it go,” she murmured, wincing as the breaks in her ribs pressed against her lung again. “Let it go, let it go…no room for regrets…”

“Ellen?” Dean was crouching over her, his face showing genuine fear. “You hurt?”

Grimacing, she nodded. “At least two ribs broken,” she said. “Definitely going to need some first aid before we get out of here.”

Dean sighed. “I was afraid of something like that. Man, Eliot is going to kick our asses.”

Ellen moved before her conscious mind had decided to act. Grabbing Dean’s ear, she twisted it until he yelped in pain. Ignoring the bright burst of agony that threatened to steal her breath for good, she levered herself nearly into a sitting position. “What was that for?” he cried, when she finally let him go.

“That,” Ellen said, letting him see how deadly serious she was, “was me reminding you that Eliot isn’t the one you need to be afraid of round here. I still clean up my own messes – you fuck up, and it’s me you’ll be making amends to. Not Eliot.”


End file.
